BRINGING HORNTON METHODIST CHURCHINTO THE 21sT CENTURY

To bring Homton Methodist Church into the 215t century and provide essential facilities to continue ourmission in the village and surrounding area, drastic changes to part of our buildings are needed. Afterlengthy consultation with a local architect, we had plans drawn up to our specification. We decided to pulldown the existing single-storey ancillary building with outside toilet and re-build modem facilities on asingle levelusing as much of the original stone, mullions and other materials as possible. We continuallyraise funds locally but the new build is a major project and we know we will need help funding it.

Homton Methodist Chapel was built in 1885 and is situated near the centre of the village. Ten years agothe main meeting room was updated, the pews were sold, a modem heating system was installed and thearea was re-decorated. The main roof has been replaced and a loop-hearing system installed. The result isa large light, welcoming area with excellent acoustics.

Due to these changes, our Church is now an essential part of community life and is used frequentlythrough the week: by the. village primary school, History Group, Keep Fit, Yoga, Concerts etc. in additionto weekly Sunday services, Thursday Club and Friday coffee mornings. This increased usage hashighlighted the totally inadequate facilities in terms of the kitchen, toilet and complete lack of disabledaccess. We are now in desperate need of drastic improvements.

What will it cost?

The cost of replacing the ancillary building is £250,000 based on estimates received from a number of localbuilders. We are used to constantly raising funds and we have a good start with over £80,000 raised so far- for details, see Page 3..

OUR MISSIONHornton Methodist Church seeks to provide a welcoming environment where all can worship God, whilstoffering• an opportunity for fellowship,• an opportunity to learn through Bible study,• a witness to Christ's love through our lives and through our prayers,• support for World Mission and the fight against injustice and• a resource for the local community and village activities.No one needs to remain outside, our doors are open to all

The Story So Far - Chapel History

Hornton is a very pretty and vibrant village set ina valley on the borders of North Oxfordshire andWarwickshire. It has a Parish Church, MethodistChurch and a village school with approximately90 pupils. The village bears the name of stonequarried in the vicinity.

About 1835 Banbury Primitive Methodists sentout their missioners to Hornton and thesurrounding villages. A Hornton Society wasstarted in the houses of the converted. In 1845, aChapel was built and this was used for worship forover 40 years. Due to pressure of space, it wasresolved to build 'a more substantial, commodiousand altogether more suitable house for divineworship' (Banbury Advertiser August ih 1884).On Auguste" 1884, the foundation stone was laidfor the new Chapel.

Richard Robbins owned five thatched cottages.One was unoccupied and straw was stored in it"ready for thatching. It caught fire and all fivecottages were destroyed. He offered the site tobuild a new chapel and the offer was accepted.Richard Rainbow, skilled stonemason and localbaker was asked to take charge of the build. Hedid this on a voluntary basis along with severalother volunteers from the village.

Hornton villagers at that time were very poor andworked either on the farmland or in thesurrounding quarries. Each evening the dedicatedmen returned from their labours and then workedon the building of the Chapel. The local postmanwould mix the mortar ready for their return so thatas much work as possible could be achieved indaylight.

A distinguishing feature of the Chapel is the veryfine circular window above the main entrance.This was carved by William Grimstone aged 25and William Gardner aged 14 years old. SadlyWilliam Grimstone died two years later. WilliamGardner also carved the font and his mother gavethe stone.

So many people have worshipped in the Chapelover the past 126 years. It has survived two worldwars and is a real asset to village life. Since 2002and with limited funds the congregation hastransformed the chapel into a beautiful and

versatile space suitable for many functions andactivities in the village. In 1995, Churches inHornton signed a Covenant to work together toshare our Christian life as fully as we can, for thegreater glory of God and in love for ourneighbour.

The Headteacher of Horn ton PrimarySchool

The Children at Hornton School have been veryfortunate to have had the use of the MethodistChapel for three days a weekfor many years, asthere is no hall at the school. The school use theChapel for assemblies, drama and danceworkshops, concerts, physical education andsometimes as a large extra classroom.

Hornton & District WI

The W.1. has their meetings in Hornton MethodistChapel on the first Thursday of each month. TheChapel is a very good venue as it has comfortablechairs, good acoustics and has easy access for thoseapproaching the village from outside. Unfortunately,the lack of adequate toilet and kitchen facilities hascaused problems, especially when meetings take placein the winter months.

A MESSAGE FROM THERECTOR OF THE IRONSTONE BENEFICE

The Ironstone Benefice includes the vi IIage of Horntonand as Rector, I am pleased to support the applicationfor funding for the work being proposed on HorntonMethodist Chapel.

The Chapel is an excellent and well used building inthe village, and, amongst other uses, is the base for ourMessy Church project (JIFFY - Jesus Is Fun For You)in the benefice which meets there once a month. Thereare also other joint projects using the building, notablythe Thursday Club.

The proposed improvements would add greatly to thebenefit to the wider community as well as toecumenical use within the area and we hope that theappropriate funds will be forthcoming.

Project background

Ten years ago, the church was used very little other than for the regular services three or four times a monthwith one service per month being a joint service held at the parish church, plus the occasional wedding orfuneral. The inside decoration was dated, the church was difficult to heat and cold in winter plus thestructure required significant maintenance work to be carried out. In 2002, the members of the localMethodist Society agreed and approved a number of significant refurbishment measures to update thechapel.

The first part of the building project has seen a transformation of the main chapel with new seating, heating,decoration, sound system, windows and roof at a total cost of £36,750. The work has been carried out instages as fund-raising, donations and grants allowed. The funding for this work was raised from manysources including local fund-raising, use of reserves, sale of pews, personal donations, Methodist circuitdonations and grants from the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust.

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A MESSAGE FROM THESUPERINTENDENT MINISTER

The Banbury Methodist Circuit is delighted to supportthe property scheme at Hornton Methodist Chapel. Wesee this scheme as an integral part of the chapel trying toturn their faith into action through practical service to theHornton community.

With an upgraded building with better facilities, thewhole village of Hornton will benefit by providing acommunity space which will be open for all to use.

We wish the members of the chapel well in both fund-raising and. carrying out the scheme. The Circuit is happyto contribute £50,000 towards this project.

Rev Rob Anning,

The second part of the buildingproject is now to improve thevery outdated kitchen and toiletfacilities and to incorporatedisabled access to all areas. Ourplan is to demolish the existingsecondary building and rebuildover a larger area incorporatinginside toilets, better kitchenfacilities, more storage and apitch roof.

WHAT WE HAVE RAISEDSO FAR

Local fund-raising has been underway forover a year. In 15 months, events as diverseas May Day stall, soup lunches, varioussales, knitted Christmas puddings and foilcollection have raised over £3,700.Additionally, £30,000 has. been receivedfrom legacies and donations.

Over 10% of the project cost has been raisedso far locally. However, the church membersrecognise that they cannot raise all that isrequired alone.

The Methodist circuit in Banbury and theDistrict based in Northampton fully supportthe scheme and have indicated they willsupport it financially - see message from thecircuit superintendent. Other fundingopportunities are being actively pursuedthrough grant-making bodies and charities.

If you would like further information or can help us in any way, please contact us

Hornton History Group

The Hornton History Group often uses HorntonMethodist Chapel for discussions, exhibitions and forguest speakers.

The Chapel is easy to frnd for those outside the villageand has easy access. The room is attractive hascomfortable seating and is warm and welcoming.

The only complaint is the lack of toilet facilities and avery poor kitchen space for the numbers that use thevenue.

HORNTON PARISH COUNCIL

Hornton Methodist Chapel plays a vital role in the lifeof the Village. It is obviously of religious importanceand The Churches Together link with St John theBaptist Church opens its use to the whole community.The building is used regularly by various groups andorganisations and for concerts. The Friday CoffeeMornings and regular Soup Lunches are particularlypopular especially with older residents, giving theman opportunity to get out and meet others. TheThursday Club and Jesus is Fun For You (JIFFY)meetings provide valuable enjoyment andopportunities for the religious learning for youngchildren in Hornton and surrounding villages. Withits central location, the Chapel is also used as thePolling Station for the village and the Parish Councilfrequently meets there.The Building itself has an interesting history havingbeen built by the Quarry Workers in the Villagemainly in their spare time. The acoustics are excellentand invariably commented upon by visitingmusicians.The Chapel is a wonderful building but the downsidehas been the kitchen and toilet facilities. The ParishCouncil is very pleased to hear of the plans for thebuilding of a new extension, which will enhance thefacilities considerably. The small Meeting Room willbe a very welcome addition to village facilities as,since the demise of the Church Room, there are nosimilar venues. This will be popular with smallgroups and for Committee and Parish CouncilMeetings.The Parish Council gives its whole hearted support forthe project and I am sure that residents will fullysupport fund raising activities as they havedemonstrated in the past.

Email hornton.chapel@gmail.comTel Dave Harwood 01295678559Tel David Miles 01295670550

Yoga

We have been holding our yoga sessions in the Chapelfor at least a year if not two, and I must say it is alovely venue. It is light and airy and always very cleanand often smelling of fresh flowers. We love theacoustics. When we chant they sound amazing with thehigh ceilings and seem to carry far.

There is one main down side though to the space - theoutside toilet. Going out in the midst of winter is notonly a hassle but also has a counter-productive effectto what we are trying to achieve. Cooling down thebody could be dangerous to those who come back toclass. I must say most students race off home directlyafter class as they just don't like going into the backyard, opening doors and locks and sitting on a freezingcold seat.

School GovernorsThe proposed plan to provide indoor toilets,kitchen and larger extra meeting room wouldmean that the school may be able to make betteruse of the facilities provided by the Chapel in thefuture. The larger meeting room could provide anarea for before and after school clubs. This wouldbe a big bonus to working parents. At the momentany extra activities have to be accommodated inthe classrooms and the very popular breakfast clubis held in the staff room.

Unfortunately with the lack of adequate toilet andkitchen facilities this makes these plansimpractical at the moment.

How can you help?

We hope that having read our leaflet youwill agree that our scheme is a worthy oneand deserves your support. If you cancontribute in any way with a donation, agrant, an offering in kind or simply an ideaor suggestion, then please contact us.

Address Hornton Methodist ChurchMillers Lane, HorntonOxfordshire, OX15 6SS